Ten men are awaiting deportation after being found working illegally in Northern Ireland.

They were detained by Home Office officials during a major operation at 19 different locations on Tuesday.

The arrests include seven men from Pakistan aged between 24 and 31. Four had overstayed their visas; two were working in breach of their visa and one had entered the country illegally.

A further three Indian men aged 22, 27 and 29 are also being held at the Home Office detention centre in Larne, Co Antrim.

Mike Golden, from the Home Office, said: "Foreign nationals who are found working illegally in this country should be in no doubt they will be caught, arrested and removed from the UK. We are determined to crack down on immigration offenders."

The operation – one of the biggest mounted in Northern Ireland – targeted mobile phone accessory carts set up in shopping centres in Belfast, Londonderry, Armagh, Ballymena and Enniskillen. Investigations are ongoing to establish the identity of the mobile phone stall owners.